Bullets and Windchimes
by diepolitiker
Summary: A brutal rape in a wealthy, seemingly perfect area of Queens leads the dectectives, especially Olivia, down the twisting maze of one girl's past. Can Olivia overcome the obstacles and help her put the perp in jail?


(A/N: Not my first fanfic; actually, my second, but this is my first Law & Order: SVU one.)

The girl's breath is ragged, panicked as she runs, her ornate, thin-soled shoes pounding the slick pavement. It's so dark she can't see the end of the street she's running down as he gets so close he can almost grab her; she can feel her hot, rank breath on her neck. She realizes with a start that it's not a street she's running down, but a dead-end alley, and she's trapped with _him._ She backs up as far as she can against the wall, but he's on her in an instant, forcing her down, ripping at her clothes…she tries to claw at him, but he's undeterred, and just growls "Dammit, Ash, be nice! You know you want it, you little slut! Things haven't changed one bit!"

"I was six then! And you say that _I _seduced _you?_ I didn't want it! I never wanted it! I don't! Get off me, you _harami!"_ she protests.

"This is the last straw," he says through clenched teeth as he paws at her belt and pulls down her underwear. "The last straw. Shut up, bitch!"

"You're the bitch!" the girl retorts, trying very hard not to cry.

"I guess I have to shut you up then!" He finds a loose brick and hits her in the back of the head with it; she immediately falls silent and still.

When he's done, he looks at his prey, his prize, sated, like a lion standing over a fresh kill. She's just conscious enough to hear him say "You liked it, didn't you…my sweet little Ashi." Laughing softly, he walks off.

8:20 p.m. "Hi, you've reached Ash's cell phone, please leave a message."

"Ash, it's me. Sid. You were supposed to meet me at the Starbucks at 43rd and 20th twenty minutes ago…are you lost? I know you just moved to Queens, so maybe you can't find it. Give me a call back."

8:34 p.m.

"Ash, it's me, Sid, again. I'm getting a little worried, are you okay? Even Queens isn't that safe if you don't know your way around. Or maybe you're just really lost. Anyway, give me a call back as soon as you get this!"

8:55 p.m.

"Ash, it's Sid. I know, maybe all my messages are getting annoying, but I'm really worried now! I'm taking the subway home now, and maybe you _are_ just lost, but I just want to make sure you're okay. CALL ME BACK!"

The tall, lanky young man waits uneasily for the subway, worried about her. A small voice in his head tells him to go find her, but he ignores it; does he really think he could find her? The voice soon grows to a shout; even if the odds are against him, he has to at least look, and he's increasingly getting the feeling she's hurt, or even dead. He bolts out of the station, not knowing where he's going, just letting his feet and his intuition carry him to who-knows where. He ends up in a dark alley, a dead end, but something tells him to keep going. Just as he reaches the back wall, he nearly trips over something, and hears a soft moan in response. Pulling out his cell phone for light and dropping to his knees next to it, he realizes it's not something, but someone.

It's Ash. Her clothes a mess, pants pulled off, bleeding from a gash in the back of her head, and wet and freezing. "Ash. Come on. Please. Talk to me. Was it him? Don't worry. You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay."

Just then, Fin and Eliot burst from a door behind him, and don't hear his soothing words, only seeing him kneeling in front of her and her messed-up clothes. They rush him.

"You're under arrest for rape. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you." Eliot declares, roughly pulling him to his feet. "Come on."

The young man's protests that he didn't do it, that he was trying to help, go unheard. Fin stays with the girl and calls 911, but can't get anything out of her.


End file.
